A Kiss in the Rain
by temporaryinsanity91
Summary: Kim's finally recovering from the avalanche. How will she readapt to school, her missions, and her life? How will Ron adapt to life with the Possibles? sequel to Fire and Ice. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**A Kiss in the Rain  
Chapter 1**

Everyone seemed to be happy and excited for her to be going back to school. Except Ron. He looked tired and worried.

She finally reached her limit. "Cut it out, Ron. I'm fine."

He gave her a kiss and a tired smile. "I'll try."

She hugged him carefully. "I'll be okay."

He relaxed into her embrace, wrapping his arms around her lovingly and steadying her. She wasn't leaning on her crutches since she was hugging him, and her balance was still poor.

"I love you," he said into her hair.

"And I, you," she mumbled into his chest.

"Go get em, tiger," he said with a smirk.

She grinned back at him and headed for her first class. She was glad to be back. Her friends all waved at her, hugged her, welcomed her back, and helped her with her stuff. She was touched that they had missed her that much.

As she was about to reach her first period class, Bonnie Rockwaller stepped in front of her. "Bonnie—"

"Welcome back, Possible," she said with a sneer as she reached her foot out. Her stiletto heel tangled in Kim's crutch and sent her hurtling towards the ground.

* * *

Ron wondered what the commotion was as he walked down the hall. His first period class was three classrooms down and across the hall from Kim's class, but he got distracted from taking her himself by Lexi, who needed help with an assignment they both had. He agreed to meet her at Bueno Nacho after school.

Now he grew anxious as he realized that the root of the problem seemed to be at the entrance to Kim's classroom. "'Scuse me," he muttered as he pushed a couple people out of the way. His eyes widened when he saw Kim on the ground, leaning on the door jamb, looking angry and in pain. "KP! Sweetheart what happened?" he cried in alarm.

"That stupid bitch tripped me," she growled. "My hip hurts, and I can't get up."

"What...?" He was confused. Surely no one would be cruel enough to trip an injured person with walking aids... right?

Wrong.

"I didn't trip you! You're just dumb and need to watch where the fuck you're going!"

"You tripped me, Bonnie," she hissed. "And don't fucking talk to me about being dumb. The reason they let you in this school was because you have an uncanny talent for being a malicious bitch and maxing out any credit card."

"Oh please, you're just jealous that I can—"

"Why would I be jealous of you? You're nothing to me," Kim said evenly. "You think you can play me but you would do well to remember who runs the show around here. _I _am the cheer captain still, injured or not. _I_ am Student Council vice president. _I_ am the chair of the student investigative and disciplinary committee. And I am _done_ dealing with your attitude."

"You can be all of those things but I will always be better than you."

"Keep dreaming, Bonnie," Ron said quietly, drawing both girls' attention as well as the attention of the rest of the growing crowd of spectators. "You'll never be as amazing as my KP." He turned to the group of students in annoyance. "Did one of you dimwits call a teacher and the nurse? Or do I have to do everything around here?"

Several students instantly jumped into action, coming to help Kim up or running for the teachers and nurses office. Ron knelt next to her. "Are you okay, Sweetheart?"

"Hurting," she said shortly, gritting her teeth.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling guilty.

"Sorry for what?"

"I should have walked you to class."

"It's okay. You're my boyfriend, not my bodyguard," she chuckled. She closed her eyes, and that wrinkle between her eyebrows appeared, the one that he hated. The one that she had the entire time they were... _dying._ "Ron... in my bag in the front pocket I have some of the medication they prescribed me. Can you get it and my water, please?"

He immediately reached for her purse, unzipping the front pocket and finding a small pill container that held four white pills and two peachy capsules. "Which ones?"

"The white ones."

He shook them out immediately and placed them in her hand, along with her water.

"Thank you," she whispered. He reached for her hand, and she smiled up at him. "I'll be okay," she said quietly.

Someone from the nurse's office finally arrived, and between her and Ron, they were able to get Kim to her feet and out of the way of the door. She couldn't walk though, and Ron handed off her stuff to the nurse and Lilith, who was busy cursing out Bonnie, and simply carried her to the office.

"Can you believe the nerve of that stupid bitch...?"

"Lilith... chill, the Principal will deal with her. Let's just focus on getting KP home, okay?" He brushed Kim's hair from her face and gently rubbed her leg. That blasted wrinkle eased a little bit, and her lips lifted briefly in a smile.

"Oh well that's easy. We can drive her home, duh. I drove here."

"Yeah but they have this rule that parents have to be here when stuff like this happens. In any case, can you get my homework for me?"

"Ohhhh no. No way! You can't skip."

"KP is going to need me, I can't—"

"The hell you can't. She'll understand."

"What if it's refractured or something? She'll be so devastated... she's going to need me, and I'm going to be there."

"Look... I know she's... _important_... to you."

"You have no idea how much," he breathed. "Lilith... I'm going with her."

"Actually, I think your third period class is starting now." Anne's voice made him jump.

"But Anne, I—"

"Ron, it's okay. I'm okay."

He felt pressure in his hand and he whipped around. "KP... Sweetheart, you're awake! How do you feel?"

"Better." She pushed herself into a sitting position and winced.

"KP, why don't you let me—"

"Ron, stop freaking out," Kim ordered. "I'll see you at home. Okay?"

He sighed. "Okay... but if you need me, I'll be—"

Lilith took his hand and dragged him towards the door. "Come on. You know how Mr. Lancer is about tardiness."

He yanked his hand back. And crossed the room again. Framing Kim's face in his hands, he gently brushed her hair away from her face. "I love you," he said quietly, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. "Please take care of yourself."

"I love you too," she mumbled in a daze.

"Can't I help you out to the car?"

She sighed. "If it makes you feel better."

"A little. It would make me feel even better if I could help you to the car _and_ up the stairs to your room. And everywhere else you need to go."

"Don't you have a test next period?"

He sighed. "Yes," he grumbled. "All right... but text me okay?"

"Quit worrying."

"Yes, now would be a good time to plan a way to get back at Bonnie, actually."

"Oh no. I do not do girl-rivalries. If she were a dude I'd gladly kick her ass, but I'm not going to sit in the girl's bathroom listening to you scheme and plan while applying makeup and waxing eyebrows or whatever. I pass."

Kim laughed. "Don't worry about that you two. I've got the payback sitch under control. You don't even have to wear makeup, Ron."

"Thank God," he muttered. "Let's get you out to the car before you change your mind..." He picked her up and Lilith and Anne, who had been chuckling at them the entire conversation, picked up Kim's belongings and followed him outside. He tucked Kim into her seat and buckled her seat belt for her against her protests. "Let me take care of you," he pleaded into her ear. He kissed her forehead, and then her lips. Her leg seemed to be hurting again, so he massaged it lightly until she relaxed into sleep again.

"Come on," Lilith said quietly.

He pushed the car door closed with a heavy sigh. Anne wrapped him in a hug. "She's alright now. Try to focus okay?"

He nodded. "Thanks. I'm uh... late to class."

She smiled and waved before hopping into the driver's seat and pulling away.

Lilith touched his shoulder. "You alright?"

"I guess," he said glumly. "Let's go. I might as well distract myself."

"That's the spirit," she mumbled. They walked in silence for a while. "We can't leave her alone again," she said suddenly.

"I was thinking that. I can't always walk her to class though... I have a class on the fifth floor." The school had five floors and a basement level. It was shaped sort of like an H, with the classrooms on the sides, and the cafeterias, one for every two floors, in the middle. On either side of the cafeteria space, there were the court yards and some sports facilities. The gym was attached to the caf building. A pool building for the swim team, a track area, and a tennis court spanned the left half of the school, and on the right half were gardens and trees and seating areas. A secluded area contained a small water fountain and garden.

"Ooh... are the upperclassmen really as mean as everyone says?" Lilith asked. The upperclassmen had all their classes on the fifth floor. Sophomores like them, and the freshmen, were on the fourth floor. The floors shared a cafeteria, which was cool since some of their friends were juniors. The middle schoolers had the third floor, and they shared their caf with the third to fifth graders on the second floor. The first to third graders shared their caf with the preschool an kindergarteners in the basement level. A lot of social standing and 'food chain' issues were much more restrained this way.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Even if they are, they can't be more awful than Bonnie. Why in the living _fuck_ did it occur to her to trip someone in crutches?! Is she out of her damn mind?!"

"You know she is, Stoppable. We can't let her get harassed again."

"We'll talk about it at lunch, when everyone is around. The more people can help her with her stuff the better."

"You know she's going to hate being babysat."

"Better than her getting her ass kicked now that she can't walk. See you at lunch okay?"

"Kay. Hey Ron?"

"Yeah?"

Lilith wrapped him in a hug. "She's my best friend... my sister. Thank you for really caring about her."

He hugged her back. "Always, Lilith. Always."

She smiled at him and shifted the weight of her book bag on her shoulder. "Call me Lili."

He winked at her. "See ya round, Lili."

* * *

When he finally got home that night, he ran straight upstairs, skidding to a halt at her door. He'd forgotten about the security in her room. She'd explained to him, after his talk with Lilith, that everyone's hand print was programmed into the system. She could actually control who had access to what parts of her room... like when anyone besides her accessed her room, her special desk locked down. Anyone could have access to her closet, but there was a part of it that required her hand print to open. He asked what was in there, but she just shook her head and smiled.

She'd also told him to talk to Wade about putting him into the system, but he never got around to it. Now he didn't know what to do. If she was sleeping, he wasn't going to wake her up just to come open the door. If she was awake, she'd be mad at him for not talking to Wade.

"Oh hi, Ron."

"Um... hi. I was just... going to see KP."

Anne gave him a knowing smile and pressed her hand to the door.

"_Dr. Anne. Possible. Hand print. Acknowledged. Welcome. Kim's settings. Active."_

"Thanks, Anne."

"Tell her dinner will be ready in ten."

"Okay." He ran up the steps as silently as he could. "KP?" he whispered.

"Come in," she said from her special desk. She turned to him with a smile. "Oh hey. I was expecting my mom until I heard you."

"Huh?"

"When I'm in here, it tells me when someone is coming in."

"Why?"

"Well I can run for cover if I'm in the nude," she said with a chuckle. "Then there's also that I've got to be able to close all this," she motioned to her desk, "If there's stuff people shouldn't see."

"Oh, I see." He stepped back, not wanting to invade her privacy.

"Don't worry about this," she said with a smile. "This is just the boring part of GJ that I had to catch up on. Mostly rescue assignments, nothing for my eyes only. How are you?" she asked him with a smile. She motioned him to the beanbag chair and pulled herself to her feet.

He rushed to help her. "You okay, KP?"

She rolled her pretty green eyes. "I'm _fine_. If I had a nickel for every time—"

"Sorry, sorry. Here," he said, helping her sit on the beanbag couch before joining her. She curled into him and he smiled. "To answer your question, much better now."

"Hey you two, Dinner!"

"Oh... crap, I was supposed to tell you to wash up for dinner."

She tensed. "I don't want to go downstairs."

"I'll bring you dinner then?"

She smirked. "Yes thank you. But, before you go." She limped her way back to her glass desk. He watched, amazed, as the glass came to life. It scanned her hands and she typed in a password. She opened a program. "Put your hand here."

"Should I be afraid?"

"No, silly. You never told Wade to get you into the system. Must I do everything myself?" She asked rhetorically as he pressed his hand to the glass. "Okay, other hand."

He did.

"ID?"

"Whoa, you need my ID?"

"There are things in this room that are classified above top secret. Everyone who comes in here has to be on record."

"Okay," he said suspiciously as he pulled out his wallet. "What I want to know is why these people trust a fifteen year old with this stuff if its so secret."

"Long story. It begins with an obscenely rich guy who stole a blueprint of a high-tech security system from GJ to secure his Cuddlebuddy collection. Mr. Paisley was his name. Naturally, he screwed something up and ended up trapped and surrounded by lasers in his own home... the idiot dropped the remote too. He somehow put a hit on my site, and I went in and used my cheer skills to get around all the lasers to the remote. I turned it off, he was arrested. I was eleven. The GJ agents were totally thrown as to how a dumb kid like me managed to work classified technology... as if it takes a genius to push a button. Anyway, the rest, as they say, is history. News got around that I could get through some pretty serious stuff. I did several trial things with GJ... rescues mainly, and training. Then the tornado hit, and stuff... within four years I've..." she smiled. "I've been all over the world. I've faced people and situations you only see in the movies. I've learned how to do things I'd never dreamed of before. But I have to keep to the rules, you know. This is my dream, and I won't let it go to shit because Lilith wanted to play with my cool glass desk."

"I understand, I guess."

"There's also that... I've dealt with some very dangerous people. People that hold grudges. If they knew that someone I know... I mean, you could get hurt, and I would never forgive myself if you got hurt because you couldn't keep your nose out of my classified stuff."

"I get it KP," he chuckled. "I promise, I'll keep my nose to my face."

"Good boy," she said with a chuckle. "You're in the system now. When you come back we'll put your settings in."

"Okay. Wait... settings?"

"You'll see," she smiled.

He retrieved their plates quickly, feeling like someone in a 007 movie when he pressed his hand to the scanner. "Ronald. Stoppable. Handprint. Acknowledged. Welcome. Kim's settings. Active."

When he got upstairs, he saw her still at the desk. "Safe to come in?"

"Of course. Now look."

He put their food down and sat down next to her. The glass showed his ID picture and several menus and options. "What is all this?"

"There are lighting options and other things that will happen automatically when you come in my room. Even music, if you want it. I asked Wade to help me set it up because Lilith always seemed so disoriented when she came in here and my settings were on. Now I know why, and she can turn music off when she's in here without getting into my stuff. Her lighting and music settings are soothing to her."

"She says she loves your room."

"She likes the colors. She helped me pick them, you know. And now I realize that she picks the music that looks like the colors in my room. It's less confusing."

"What are you talking about?"

She shook her head. "Lilith's... special. She's got this thing called Synesthesia. It means that she sees music in color. And my taste in music throws her off. So she picks her own. I didn't know until she told me, but it all makes sense now. So, Wade had her and Paige and everyone else go in and set their settings while I was in rehab. Now when they come in, everything is the way they like it."

"Talk about making me feel at home."

"You _are_ home," she smiled. "Play with it until you find the settings you like. I'm going to eat. When you're done, hit the next button at the bottom, it will show you what to do next."

He sat there for a good hour, playing with the lights. There were even color settings for the lights! This was so awesome. Once again, he thought that the Possible family was ridiculously loaded.

She seemed to read his mind. "GJ sponsored the whole thing. So it's not a upper-class suburbia thing. It's more like... a work perk."

"I need your job," he mumbled. "This is fifteen different shades of awesome!"

She laughed. "Glad you like it."

"Okay, I'm done."

"Okay, hit next. It will give you the option to change your name. Like... Ron instead of Ronald. And it will ask you some security questions."

"Okay." When he was done with that, he hit the button at the bottom and his profile was saved.

"Want to see something cool?"

He moved aside so that she could sit next to him. "Watch."

She opened a word processor and typed a paragraph of gibberish. She drew her finger across the screen, and the document seemed to fly into the corner and disappear.

The printer came to life, asking her if she wanted to print her document or fax it.

"Whoa! So you can literally send stuff to the printer?"

"Yeah. Much faster than having to click file then print, or whatever."

"No kidding."

She closed the program and opened her media library. Selecting a movie, she pressed play. Then she drew her finger across the screen again, and the movie was suddenly playing on the TV screen behind him.

"Cool!"

"Fun, huh?"

"Ugh we should totally be allowed to play with this."

"I would... but I have yet to protect my files instead of just the computer I only got it like a month and a half before the avalanche."

"Oh so this is new."

"Fairly, yeah."

"It's very cool."

"I promise Wade and I are working on encrypting my stuff."

"Well okay. Hey, can I play with the lights again?"

"Knock yourself out," she said with a chuckle.

"Kimmie! Ron! We have some cherry cobbler for dessert!"

"I am _so_ there. Ya coming KP?"

She shut down the glass computer and reached for her crutches. "Right behind you."

* * *

Being in her room last night had been very revealing. She took her spy/agent stuff seriously. Actually, she was kind of a teenage mercenary, except not really, since she worked for GJ most of the time. It was interesting to hear her talk about it. After they'd had their cobbler, they went upstairs again, talking and laughing and kissing until they both fell asleep on her bed. It amazed him that even though they'd spent thirty six hours talking virtually non-stop, never in the months since did they stop finding things to talk about. He asked about her collection of stuffed toys, and she told him where she got each one. Her pandaroo, which she'd gotten as a present when she was like four, was her first one. She'd loved the thing to death, and sheepishly confessed to still keeping it in her bed when she slept.

He asked her about her missions, and the glee on her face when she described all the places in the world she had been and all the people she'd met and saved made him smile.

"So you... call in a favor and get a ride anywhere in the world?"

She'd smiled. "I guess I'm lucky that way. When it's not GJ related, I'm kind of on my own. People are always willing to help. I also get hits from actual organizations. People from Red Cross and other disaster relief organizations that need help often ask me to come along and provide food and a place to stay as long as I'm there helping."

"So you're a regular grapple-gun-slinging, world-saving Mother Theresa, huh?"

She laughed long and hard. "Yeah, something like that."

He grinned and then he brushed her cheek. "You're so pretty when you laugh," he said quietly.

Still smiling, she'd pulled him toward her and—

"Ron? Hey!"

He blinked at his friend, confused.

"Dude, you've seriously got it bad."

"Huh? Sorry."

"You'll never be able to carry a normal conversation with that girl in your head."

"A small price to pay, Josh," he said quietly.

"So when do I get to meet her?"

Ron looked up at him, then noticed the girls walking through the doors to Bueno Nacho. "Now," he said brightly, jumping up to greet them.

"Sit, Kim. I'll get your food," Zita Flores was saying.

"Thanks," she smiled. "The uh... the usual. Oh, hey Ron. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Hanging out with Josh. Come meet him, will you? I'll get your food, don't worry."

"Ron—"

He raised his eyebrows. "Sit."

"Yessir," she grumbled.

She lowered herself carefully into the booth. "Hi."

A smirk. "You must be the girl that's been messin' with my boy's head since he like... hit puberty."

She flushed but laughed. "Kim Possible," she introduced herself.

"Josh Mankey," he replied. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Kim! Oh you can't be serious! You are _not_ ditching us to sit with your boytoy today! We're here to work!" Josh looked up and saw a girl with jet black hair wearing a black pleated short skirt, a black tank-top, and black fingerless lace gloves storming across Bueno Nacho. His jaw dropped. She had ice blue eyes that looked even icier with her dark, smoky eyeshadow and blood red lipstick. "Who are you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He raised an eyebrow back. "Who are you?"

She crossed her arms, and her hip jutted to her left. She was pissed... and she was hot. He smirked. "You... uh... you paint?"

She looked confused. "How do you know?"

He stood, stepping into her personal space. Her breath hitched.

Her hair was silky as his fingers tangled in it, pulling funny-colored paint-chips from it. "You've got paint in your hair," he said into her ear. Then dropped a ten dollar bill in front of Kim. "Tell Ron thanks for the food," he said with a wink. "Pleasure meeting you both."

Kim watched her friend as he sauntered out the door. She went from flustered to nuclear. "Asshole!" she hissed.

Kim smirked. "Ooh, Lili's got a crush."

"Shut the fuck _up,_ Possible! I do not like him! He's... he's..."

"He's got pretty eyes and he's the first person that's every been able to successfully make you be anything other than rude in the past six years."

"Well, he did have nice eyes," she mumbled. Then she glared at Kim. "That doesn't mean anything!"

"KP, I left your food at your table—where's Josh?"

"He um... took off. He says thanks for the food," Kim told him, handing him the ten.

Ron shook his head and put the cash in his pocket. "I'll talk to him tonight. What's wrong with you?" he asked, noting Lilith's demeanor and eying her speculatively.

"Nothing," she growled, stomping back to the table.

"She met Josh," Kim explained.

"Oh, did I or did I not call it?! I told you she and Josh would hit it off. Can I get a boo-yah?!"

Kim chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I don't know... He's going to give her a run for her money."

"Meaning...?"

"I've never seen her so flustered," she said with a chuckle. "It was cute. He totally knows she likes him. I'm going to like seeing him push her buttons."

"Twenty bucks says they are official in two weeks."

"Lili is stubborn," Kim countered. "My twenty says at least a month."

"You're so on."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Now who's all googly eyed and girly? Ground control to Major Josh! Mankey! Hey Monkey face! Hellooooooooo!"

"Not a Monkey face," he said distractedly.

"Uh huh," he grinned. "Something on your mind?"

"Um... no."

"Some_one_ on your mind?"

"Yes! Okay? Yes. Your girlfriend's pal is on my mind. What was her name again?"

"Lilith," he said with a smirk.

"Lilith... right. She was so... dude did you know she paints?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did."

"I have to get into MAGIC," he mumbled.

"See? I told you," Ron laughed. "Are you going to ask her out?"

"I dunno. I mean... she's with your girl, and they seem tight. I don't want to cause shit between you guys if it doesn't work out."

Ron rolled his eyes. "That's ridiculous. We'll be fine. And personally, I'd rather you did it sooner rather than later, or I'll be out of twenty bucks."

"What the hell—you made a _bet_?! Asshole!"

Ron leaned back in his seat with a grin. "I do what I can."

Josh kicked his shin under the table, smiling happily when Ron yelped in protest to the contact his foot made with his leg. He felt better then.

Ron rubbed his leg and smirked at him. "You like her, admit it."

"Well... she was hot... really _really_ hot. Pretty. Really, _really_ pretty."

"Oh, you've got it bad, my friend. You and me are in the same boat now."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. She'll never go for me anyway, she's way out of my league."

"Dude... trust me on this. Ask her out and keep asking her till she says yes... because she _will_ say yes."

"Whatever. I'm heading home. Homework and stuff."

"Alright... see ya... And hey." He smirked at Josh when he turned back. "You don't want her number?"

Josh glared at him and stomped away, leaving him chuckling.

* * *

Ron was making dinner again. He didn't mind... but he was was a bit nervous seeing as how Kim was now sitting at the counter, chin in her hands, watching cook with a dazzled and slightly flirty look on her face.

Part of him wanted to put on a bit of a show for her. The rest of him knew that she'd get a show alright, and with his luck, it would be a humiliating one. So he just did what he usually did, trying to ignore the hot girl with the fiery hair whose green eyes followed his every move.

He was making lasagna and salad. From scratch. He didn't even buy the pasta... he made it.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?"

A sad smile crossed his face. "The internet. My um... my parents, they like the finer things in life. They could tell when the pasta was fresh or not." He turned to her, leaning his hip on the counter with a heavy sigh. "I like to cook. They figured that out eventually... the only reason they didn't make me stop was that they were too lazy to cook themselves."

"I'm... sorry."

"Cooking is distracting," he said quietly. "When I cook, no one hates me. I'm not a painting on the wall, I'm not invisible. I'm not a loser. I'm not anything at all... I'm just _cooking_. Know what I mean?"

Her green eyes filled with love and pride. "You're so strong," she said quietly.

His breath left his lungs in a soundless chuckle. "I don't feel strong." He turned to the refrigerator, grabbing some fresh lettuce and vegetables for a salad. "I used to dream about kitchens like this," he said, closing the fridge and turning to the cupboard for olive oil and some dry herbs and spices for a homemade dressing. "My parents... like I said, they liked the finer things in life. They always wanted me to cook like I was on Food TV but they never bothered to upgrade the fridge or anything like that... because I... I didn't _deserve_ it."

"You do deserve it," she said quietly. Suddenly her arms were around his waist, and he turned and buried his face in her hair. She smelled good. Sweet and spicy, warm and safe, but adventurous. It suited her.

She smiled up at him. "Want help?"

He shook his head. "No, I've got it. You could mix one of those frozen concentrated drinks though. There is a cherry thing in the freezer, and ginger ale in the fridge in a glass bottle."

She wrinkled her nose. "Cherry, and ginger ale?"

He grinned at the look on her face. "It tastes good, I promise. That ginger ale has a tiny bit of that spice after. The cherry will balance it out."

"If you say so, Chef."

He stuck his tongue out at her, and she poked his side, which led to a tickle fight.

She shrieked and giggled as he wrapped his arms around her and dug his fingers gently into her sides. She easily slipped from his grasp and smirked as she did.

He lunged for her again, laughing with her as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp again. This time he'd secured her tightly, and she still was not strong enough or quick enough to struggle out of his grasp again, and was reduced to a helpless fit of giggles. She eventually managed to trip him and he went down hard on the kitchen floor. The smile fell off his face as she landed on top of him.

"Holy shit! Are you okay, Sweetheart?" She grinned at him in response and he framed her face with her hands. "You sure?"

She smiled sweetly at him. "I'm okay."

He smiled back. "You're so gorgeous," he murmured.

She tilted her head a little bit, studying him. The sunlight spilling onto his face from the window made his eyes look like they were full of honey. He had light freckles on his face. _He's so cute_, she thought, biting her lip. She watched his honey gaze flicker to her lip, which was still caught between her teeth, and she licked it subconsciously.

He swallowed hard. Her hair looked like lava in the sun; it spilled down her back and over her shoulders; it flowed into her face, and he pushed it behind her ear. She shivered as his fingertips brushed the shell of her ear. Her skin was so soft... he could happily spend the rest of his life on the floor like this, staring into her eyes, his fingers smoldering where they were touching her face, and his chest smoldering where her hand lay, her middle finger edging its way past the last closed button of his polo shirt.

She was licking her lips again... they were glossy and pink and... they tasted like cherry, he thought when he lost all sense of restraint and pulled her to him. His hands tangled in her hair. Her hand, which formerly lay innocently on his chest, clutched at his shirt as a whimper escaped her lips.

And then a throat cleared. His eyes popped open, as did hers. They stared at each other, embarrassed and mildly horrified.

"What are you two kids doing on the floor?" Dr. Possible's voice made him swallow hard.

"Um... hi... daddy. We um... we fell. And Ron was um... cooking."

"Ugh, the lasagna is going to burn... let me up, Sweetheart," he said urgently as the oven beeped.

She carefully lifted herself off of him and rolled to the side. He stood and carefully, hauled her to her feet and handed her her crutches as the doorbell rang.

"Um, I need to check the food..."

"I'll get the door," said Anne, who been standing in the entry to the kitchen watching the teens squirm under her husband's stare with a smirk on her face. She went to the door and was surprised to find a boy with dark brown hair and steely eyes. "Hi. Is Kim home?"

"Uh... yes, Eric. Why don't you wait for her in the living room?"

"Sure, Dr. Possible. Thank you."

She watched the boy go into the living room and frowned. If there was one thing she remembered about high school, it was all the damn _drama. _This would cause a nuclear Kimplosion. This was '_so the drama'_ as Kim would say, and she knew her daughter was going to be angry for days.

* * *

"Kimmie, honey someone is here to see you," she said quietly, poking her head into the kitchen.

"Who, mom? Lili or Moni?" But her mother was gone.

Ron dried his hands on a towel. "Come on. Get this over with so we can eat. I'm going to set the table."

"No, the boys can set the table," Anne said. "Ron, why don't you get yourself washed up?"

Ron nodded and slipped out of the room. When he reached the stairs, he noticed that the person here to see Kim was not any of the friends he knew. "Hi," he said, making the other boy turn. "I'm Ron."

"Eric," he introduced himself, stretching out his hand.

Ron didn't take it. "Why... are you here?"

"To talk to Kim, of course," he said defensively. "What's it to you? Who are you, anyway?"

"He's my boyfriend," came an infuriated, icy voice.

Eric chuckled, looking Ron up and down in disdain. "Him?"

Ron's fists clenched.

"Ron... baby," she breathed, turning to him. His eyes widened comically when she unleashed her wide, puppy eyes on him. His fists relaxed immediately when she pressed her lips to his cheek. Her hand gently brushed his face and he leaned into her subconsciously. His hands went to her waist.

"Mom... asked you to get washed up. You can wash up in my room and I'll join you in a minute, okay?"

He nodded, his brain completely frazzled by her puppy dog pout. "Mmkay," he mumbled. "I love you."

Her smile was blinding. "And I love you." She turned to Eric as he stumbled up the stairs, and her expression was completely cold. "What do you want?"

"Look... last time we talked, I realized you were right. I can't... expect you to quit being mad at me if I don't make an effort to show you that I really do care about you."

"You showed me just how much you care about me when I caught you fucking Bonnie in the back seat."

"Kim..."

"And if you really want to get in my good graces, you can start by treating my _current_ boyfriend with some respect. Don't talk down to him ever again, or what I did to you behind the gym will be nothing compared to what I'll do to you next. Are we clear?"

"You can't actually like that... _loser_."

"He's not a loser... after all, he's with me, isn't he? And you... well," she said, looking him up and down with a derisive sneer, "You're not. He's a bigger man than you will ever be," she said with a smirk and a dirty look as she turned to the stairs. "I'm going up to... _my room..._ with my _boyfriend_ now. When I come back down, you'll be gone."

Eric glared after her, defeated and humiliated. He needed a plan... grovelling obviously wouldn't work. He turned to leave and saw Kim's mother standing in the entry to the living room, leaning on the wall. Her expression wasn't as welcoming as it used to be. In fact, it was downright chilly.

"She left you because you were cheating?" She asked quietly.

Eric sighed.

"It wasn't the first time, either was it? I remember she sat here one day, two weeks before she broke up with you, staring at the phone and waiting for you to call. For three hours. Dressed up. You were supposed to take her to dinner. You didn't call, you didn't come. Then there was two weeks before that, she said she thought she saw you at the fair with someone after you told her you couldn't go."

He glowered at the floor. Why did she know this stuff? His parents sure as hell didn't pay that much attention to everything he said. "I'm going to leave now," he said dully.

She turned to leave. "Make sure the door doesn't hit you on the way out," she said, and the lack of emotion in her voice was almost as chilling as any of her daughter's furious looks.

Once again humiliated, Eric left the Possible home, vowing that he would redeem himself with Kim. The first step would be to get rid of that pathetic excuse of a boyfriend...

* * *

"_Welcome back, Kim. Ron's settings. Active. Activate your settings?"_

She touched no and then made her way upstairs slowly. "Ron?"

"Yeah."

"You okay?"

He was standing by the big bay window, seething. "Where does that fucker get off—"

"Stop. Ron, he's not worth your time. I'll... I'll deal with him okay?"

"Is he gone?" Ron asked dully.

"Yes, he's gone."

"Okay. I um... not so hungry."

She sighed, reaching for one of his wrists. His hand immediately found hers and he turned to her. "Ron... _Ronnie," _she breathed, now in full flirt mode. "Come eat with us. Please?"

He swallowed hard. "You don't play fair," he mumbled, feeling the last of his tension drain away. He pulled her close for a moment, then turned back to the window. "I'm tired of people thinking that I'm not... good enough."

"Me too," she said quietly. "One day that will change. Everyone will finally see what I see in you."

"You think so?"

She smiled and tugged on his hand. "Yes. Now come on, I'm hungry."

He kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Sweetheart."

"Always," she responded.

* * *

The following week at school, Kim wondered why everyone she had a class with was suddenly walking her to class. Zita and Ron walked her to first period. Lilith walked her to second period. The new girl Lexi, who she thought was sweet, took her to third period. One of Lexi's admirers from the football team walked her to fourth period, and another walked her to fifth. Then she had lunch, and Ron and Monique came to get her, and the second she hit the stairs to the cafeteria, Paige and Lilith appeared behind her, like some kind of escort. Ron made her sit down and brought her her food, and she finally exploded. "Alright, all of you. Who's paying you to be my bodyguards? Nobody? Good, then you don't care if you're fired!"

"Don't be like that, Sweetheart," Ron said. "We're just looking out for you."

"I don't need to be babysat," she groused, crossing her arms.

"We ain't babysittin'. We just don't want you gettin' hurt. That fall you had last week coulda aggravated yo' hip, or yo' knee, or worse, you coulda fucked somethin' up again and need even mo' surgery an' therapy, an' we can't lose cheer nationals again! We need you next year, and you can't do nothin' if you stuck up in the hospital again." Monique gave Kim one of her looks.

Ron rubbed her upper arm lightly. "Amp down, Sweetheart. They're right. Second place sucked for them." He vividly remembered the less than enthusastic looks the girls had when they came home from the national competition two weeks before. Kim, with her usual charm, pep-talked them into being happy they won something.

"Fine," Kim sighed.

"Get out of my seat, loser," hissed a familiar voice.

Lexi looked up with wide eyes. "I uh... wasn't aware this was your seat, Bonnie," she said quietly.

"Well now you know, bitch, so leave."

Still innocently wide-eyed, she looked around. "Justin? Lilith? Did you guys know this was Bonnie's seat?"

Justin shook his head immediately. "News to me."

Lilith smirked. "I don't know, Lex. Check if maybe her name is on it or something. I mean, I don't think you can do that, but if she put her name on it, it's fair, right?"

Bonnie growled. "It doesn't need my _name_. This is my seat!"

Kim glared daggers at Bonnie. "You wanna fuck with me, fine. But I won't have you humiliating my friends."

Ron pressed a pacifying kiss to her temple before speaking. "I wasn't aware that that was your seat either. Justin invited a friend to sit with us today, and you were late to lunch," he said, his lips turning in an angelic smile. "So you can pull up a seat at the end, or you can kindly fuck off."

"You have no right to speak to me that way!"

Ron leaned back, draping his arm across Kim's seat. "Actually, I can talk to you pretty much however I want. You'll remember who runs the show around here," he quoted Kim when she fell.

"So you actually want this loser to sit here more than _me?!_"

Kim turned her eyes skyward with a dramatic sigh while Ron just smirked at Bonnie. The rest of the table suddenly found their food, nails, shoes, or anything else extremely interesting.

Tara stood angrily. "You guys are assholes. Come on, Bonnie. Those football guys over there are sort of cute. They wouldn't mind us sitting over there, do you think?"

Bonnie grinned her relief at Tara, flipping her hair back and trying to be sexy. "No, I don't think so. After all, we are the pretty ones at this table," Bonnie said with a smirk at Kim.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Dream on."

Marcella silently stood and went with them. Kim rolled her eyes and turned to some of the kids at the other end of the table. "Come on guys, sit closer. What's your name again? Vince?" she asked a guy with shaggy blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Uh yeah," he said, flushing slightly.

"Kim," she introduced herself with a smile.

"I didn't... mean to cause so much drama," he apologized.

Ron rolled his eyes. "You didn't cause the drama. Bonnie did. We aren't mad, no worries." he stretched his unoccupied hand across the table. "Ron Stoppable."

"Nice to meet you," he said, relieved.

"So how'd you get into MAGIC?"

"Skipped two grades, first and fifth. They said my IQ is really high, so my parents put me here. What about you guys?"

"Well, Monique designs clothes. She's really good, she did all our cheer uniforms," Kim introduced.

Monique smirked and waggled her fingers at him.

He flushed in response. He was cute. Monique was going to get him to sit here more often.

"Lilith does her art thing," Ron said, motioning toward her.

Lilith nodded toward him with a wink. "Pleased to meet you, Vince."

"Likewise," he mumbled. He was dazed. Yesterday he was sitting by himself in the corner of the caf, and now he was sitting with the prettiest girls he'd ever seen. And they weren't as snobby as they looked from across the caf, except for that crazy girl Bonnie.

"...Paige knows like five hundred million languages," Kim was saying.

"And Zita is like the gaming, programming, hacking Queen Geek," Ron finished, earning himself a one-finger salute from Zita.

He smiled at that. He liked gamer chicks. And this Zita girl was hot. He squeezed both their hands gently.

"Sarah. Piper." Ron pointed to each of the girls in turn, and they smiled at him. Piper sent him a wink.

He flushed deep red.

"And this is my KP, of course," Ron said with a smirk. "She's here because she's _the _Kim Possible."

She smacked his chest with a chuckle. "He's exaggerating."

"No he ain't," Monique protested with a smirk. "She got the highest IQ in all highschool. An' she do investigations an shit fo' like Global Justice an' the CIA an' shit. An' she do all them rescue missions."

"Oh," he said, recognition lighting his face. "You're _the_ Kim Possible."

Kim's face turned red. "Since when does my name have a _the_ infront of it?"

"Since now, KP," Ron grinned. "Or rather, TKP."

"I think _not_." She mock-glared at him. "Anyway. You've met Lexi and Justin."

"Yeah."

"And those three are on the football team."

"Matt," the first one introduced himself. "I'm here for science."

"Joey," said the second, stretching his hand to the boy. "My brother Alex. We do music."

"Very cool," Vince responded, shaking their hands. "What kind?"

"Oh, Joey is on the keys. He's done piano since he was like... three. I play bass... and bass. If it makes your chest vibrate, I can play it," he said with a chuckle. "Also since I was a kid. We do classical and we also do some cover band gigs."

"I've never heard you guys play," Kim said, picking at her lunch.

"Well you can have your chance this weekend. We're playing in a lounge in Upperton. Good food, good time... you should come."

She and Ron smiled at each other. "Sure," they both said. "What's the place called?"

"The Garage," they said with a chuckle. "It's themed to look like the inside of a garage... but it's really like a lounge slash bar. It's different."

"It sounds different," Ron said.

"It's cool. You guys will like it."

"I'll come too," Lilith said. "Someone has to chaperone those two love birds..."

Ron and Kim rolled their eyes before glancing at each other deviously. "Actually, is it cool if I bring a friend?"

"What friend?" Lilith's eyes went wide.

"Oh, Josh, the guy I was hanging out with before... oh, I was supposed to meet him today, but he said he was working on some big art project."

She tilted her head. "He does art?"

Ron shrugged and smirked. "Ask him yourself when we meet him."

She glared at her friends. "You two... ugh! I'm going to class," she huffed, stomping away.

"Booyah," Ron said with a chuckle as he punched the air.

Kim grinned at him. "He doesn't even have to be here for her to get all flustered. She's so into him."

"You can back out of that bet, babe."

"No, I don't think so," she smirked back at him. "In fact, I think I'll raise. Fifty says she'll be pissed and flustered this weekend and won't want to talk to him anymore."

"You're so on. Josh will turn the charm on. She doesn't stand a chance."

The rest of the table laughed. Monique, having heard all about Josh, grinned. "Ma' fi'ty says three weeks."

"Put me down for sixty," Paige interjected. "I think he'll ask her out this weekend."

"And she'll say no," Kim countered.

"If you say so. I have an advantage," Paige said mysteriously.

"Oh that's not fair!" Kim pouted.

Paige just shrugged.

"Oh I'm totally going to be rich," Ron said. "Paige can do her thing with Lilith, but she hasn't met Josh yet."

"True."

"Yup. Now, lets see. One-hundred sixty bucks... what am I gunna do with all that cash?"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Buy yourself an attitude adjustment."

He grinned. "I'll buy you an attitude adjustment if you want, Sweetheart."

She just glared.

"See," he said, tapping her nose, "you need it more than me."

"Why don't you buy it and donate it to _Bon-Bon_?"

Ron glared dully in her direction. "I wouldn't waste an attitude adjustment on her..."

* * *

Ron was sitting in the corner, his favorite red head lounging comfortably in his lap. The low table in front of them held funky virgin drinks with umbrella toothpicks. The show had been pretty great. Alex and Joey turned out to be very talented. However, Ron and Kim were sitting out of the party, munching on snacks and getting to know each other. Lilith was sulking next to them, watching Josh dance with some girl.

"Why is he dancing with that slut?" Kim heard her mutter under her breath. "Ugh look at her shirt! Who wears that?"

Kim bit her lip and hid her face in Ron's chest to conceal her laughter.

Ron's fingers tangled gently in her hair. "What's so funny?" he murmured.

She chuckled into his chest again. "Lili's looking rather green today, don't you think?"

He watched her for a moment, confused. Then he looked around. "Where's Josh?"

"Dancing with some dumb slut," came Lilith's answer.

Ron coughed to hid his laughter. "Why don't you cut in?"

"You know? Maybe I should. Excuse me." She stood and stormed to the dance floor.

"Oh this you've got to see, babe," Ron grinned as he helped her sit up.

She did and grinned too when she spied Lilith crossing the dance floor. "May I cut in?" she asked, and both Kim and Ron could tell she had to work extremely hard to be polite.

Josh just smirked at her. The girl with him glared.

Lilith ignored her.

They stood there, the three of them, smirking or glaring or ignoring, until Josh cleared his throat. "It was very nice to meet you, Sandy."

"It's Cindy," the girl spat through gritted teeth.

"Have a great night, Cindy."

The girl stomped to the bar. Lilith grinned her victory until Josh tapped her shoulder, smirking as always. "Are we dancing, Lilith?"

She took his hand, but glared at him. "You remember my name, congratulations."

Josh shook his head. "She just wanted to get some."

"And you?"

He gave her a smile that left her slightly dazzled and very flustered. "I had other things on my mind."

She glared at him. "You're such a jerk," she mumbled, agitated.

"What'd I do?"

"You... ugh! I'm going home..." She turned to leave.

He grabbed her arm."Hey, wait just a second. I didn't do anything wrong. She wanted to get laid. I'm not that kind of guy. I was hoping I could get to talk to you instead, but you didn't seem very happy to be here... I don't care about her name, I don't care about anything she had to say. She had one thing on her mind. I had dancing on my mind, dancing with you. If that makes me a jerk then maybe I was wrong about you." He walked past her to the table, still infuriated.

"Hey guys... I'm heading home, thanks for the good time."

"You okay, dude?" Ron asked, watching his friend in concern.

"Never better," he muttered, taking his jacket and keys and stalking out of the room.

Ron sighed. "Well... Paige loses."

Kim smirked. "So do you. Did I or did I not call it? She's pissed and she even pissed him off. I'm totally gonna win..."

"Ugh shut up," he grumbled.

She kissed his cheek and he smiled down at her, capturing her lips with his.

What was he losing again...?

* * *

**before you guys wonder about KP and company taking bets on their relationships, my friends and I used to do this all the time. It was mostly a joke, though, no money was ever exchanged. It was good times.**

**hope you liked the chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

School had ended two weeks before. Kim won the bet (the week after the garage incident, she'd decided to raise her bet and say they wouldn't get together until after school... six people 'called' and she was now the winner of the five-hundred-forty-dollar pool)... Lilith and Josh were hostile as ever until the week after school ended because some drunk douche drove Josh off the road. He was fine, but he and Kim were both rockin' the crutches. Lilith had misheard the news, and rushed to the hospital under the assumption that Josh was seriously injured. Josh, who heard about one of Lilith's commotions in the waiting room, demanded that Ron bring her in immediately, which he did.

After two hours of bickering, Josh and Lilith officially became an item.

Ron sat across from his friend at a place literally called The Funkiest Desserts Ever in Upperton. The menu included things like fried ice cream, fried Oreos (which Josh thought was gross), fried candy bars, some funky kind of fried s'more cake, and other things. They also had fudge and candy. And peanut brittle, which he found out Kim, who had a sweet tooth the size of a small European country, was very addicted to.

Josh finished off the last of his fried snickers bar and sighed. "Where do you find these places?" He muttered. "Your girl is going to lock you out of her room when she steps on the weight next week and finds she weighs two extra pounds."

"Oh please," Ron rolled his eyes, "She's not that kind of girl. Besides, she's mad at me when I come here and _don't_ get her something."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"Twenty bucks says she'll give me the PDP."

"You're so on."

When Ron got back, with slightly-crippled Josh in tow, Kim smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him. "Hi," she breathed.

"Hey baby," he grinned in response, kissing her forehead before pecking her lips.

She frowned and kissed him again. Then she pulled back. "Where were you?"

"Oh... I was just at the dessert place in Upperton—"

"Why didn't you bring me any?"

"Sorry Sweetheart," he whispered, kissing her cheek. "Josh had never been, and since he can't drive right now I figured I'd take him to his appointment in the hospital and then drive up there to unwind a bit."

Her lips drew into a pout and Ron smirked. "Josh you owe me twenty bucks."

"Fucker," he grunted, pulling out his wallet while Ron handed her a clear plastic bag full of peanut brittle, and a tiny giftbox that contained fudge.

Her eyes brightened immediately and Anne sighed. "Not till dinner."

"But mom—"

Anne raised an eyebrow and Kim huffed before handing the candy back to Ron. "You better stash them," she said dully.

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll slip you a piece in a bit," he whispered into her ear conspiratorially.

She grinned and turned to Josh. "You guys should stop making bets so much."

"No kidding... this guy has me broke."

"He has to earn his money back somehow," she snickered, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"What money?" Josh asked suspiciously.

"Umm... nothing," she said with a giggle. "Gotta go!" She quickly made her way to her room.

Josh glared at his friend. "What money?"

"Um... well Monique, and Paige, and Zita, and Alex and Joey, and KP and me all sorta had a pool going."

Josh just sighed. "You have a gambling problem."

Ron shrugged, grinning impishly. "I do what I can..."

"You've got your girl making money off me, you can at least feed me before I go home."

"Oh, Mrs. Possible's got dinner started. She'll feed ya even better than me, I promise."

* * *

"Hi Lili," Kim said with a smile that fell off her face when she noted her friend's expression. "Um... are you alright?"

"Let's cut to the chase. I want a cut of the cash."

"What cash?"

"The cash you won betting on me and Josh!"

"He told you about that?"

"Duh... Josh and I don't have _secrets_... which is more than I can say for you!"

Kim was utterly blindsided. "I... don't keep secrets from Ron."

"Clearly," she snorted. "But you keep them from me."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Why haven't you told anyone what happened to you?"

"Because it's classified, and we could all go to _prison_ because you—"

"You told Ron."

"We were dying... and what did he tell you?"

"Nothing... he won't say anything."

"He shouldn't! He shouldn't have even told you that he knew."

"He didn't, I guessed."

Kim sighed. "I'll split the cash with you forty-sixty."

"So you're going to pay me to stop asking?"

"What do you want from me, Lilith?! You fucking came to my room and _demanded_ that I give you a cut."

"I just want to know when Ron replaced us as your confidants."

"It's not like that, Lili, and you know that."

"Then tell me what happened!"

Kim sighed. "I can't."

"Fine... whatever."

"Lili, we were in a dark, cold, miserable little piece of hell, and we both thought we were going to die. I almost did, remember? When you're in a situation like that, you talk about things. It happens."

"Okay, how's this for a near-death situation: if you can't fucking tell your best friends when and why you're hurting, that pretty much means the _death_ of your relationship with them."

Kim rolled her eyes. "You're breaking up with me?"

"Maybe."

Kim turned her back to her best friend. She was silent for a long time. Then she crossed her room and booted up her glass computer. "Put your hand here."

"Huh?"

"_Put your hand here,_" Kim hissed. "If you don't want to be my friend because I won't break the fucking law for you, than we won't be friends. I'll remove you from the system and you can go your merry fucking way."

Lilith gulped. "I-I..."

"You don't have a choice anymore."

"Kim..."

"Don't! You know how I feel about ultimatums. You come to my house to my room, you threaten me and ask me to do something you _know_ I can't do... and you think that I can still trust you?"

Lilith lowered her head. "I'm sorry. I just..."

"I get it," Kim said softly. "I know things have been insane since the avalanche. Ron is a bigger part of my life than I thought he would be... and you feel threatened. You can just _tell_ me that. That's why we're _friends."_

"I don't want to be jealous."

Kim sat down, her hip exhausted and starting to cramp from standing. "I think my dad resents it too. He understands it... probably better than anyone else, because the projects he does are for NASA and sometimes for branches of the military, so they are secret too. But Ron and I were the only two people in that hole on the mountain, and Ron is the only one that knows what happened on that mission... it's a weird bond. A strong one. You aren't the only one that hates it."

"Will you... tell me? Please?"

Kim sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. She turned away from her friend again, wrapping her arms around herself. "I was... captured by a GJ agent that double crossed us."

"What the fuck!" Lilith yelped. "Are you—what happened?!"

"I can't tell you that."

"Just... please. Vaguely?"

"Vaguely... I was the lead operative on a recon. One of the most brilliant people I have ever met went...

"She tipped them off, we were captured, four of us were killed. I was... _held... _until back up came. The mastermind behind the whole thing died in the bust. The GJ agent lost her badge and was put in prison."

"Wow... How many of you were there?"

"Six."

"So... you, the double-crosser, and the four that died?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean by 'held'?"

Kim turned enough to give her a meaningful look.

Lilith looked deathly pale. "How long?" she choked out.

"Three days," Kim said flatly.

"Kim... I..."

"It's fine... for the most part. I still dream about it sometimes. Rarely. It's hard to talk about, which is fine because I'm supposed to keep it to myself."

"And you still do missions with those people?!"

"_Those people_ aren't at fault for what happened. It was a fluke, it could have happened to anybody. The only reason there was even a bust is because it happened to me. Anyone else would have kicked the bucket and the bad guys would have gotten away."

"You do the most dangerous things..."

"Someone has to," Kim said with a smirk. "I love you, Lili."

"Love you too," Lilith whispered, wrapping her best friend in a hug.

"Pass me that?" Kim pointed across her room to a purple tin box on her other desk.

Lilith did as she was asked, and Kim opened it. "Here," she said quietly.

It was an envelope. Inside, there were five-hundred-forty dollars, cash.

"What the—?"

"Keep it. And keep your mouth shut," she added with a grin.

"Oh so now you're paying me _not_ to say anything?"

A smirk. "You bet."

* * *

Ron looked furious but resigned. "And you told her?!"

"She's my best friend, Ron."

"Your parents don't even know. Hell, the rest of the people in that division of GJ don't even know how or why their coworkers died."

"You think I should tell my parents?! They'll never let me go back!"

"Maybe that's for the best."

"Not a chance. I've opened my mouth enough as it is."

"Your folks deserve to know. Besides, you're still a minor, they should have been told _something._ Even if it's not all the classified stuff, you can at least give them the basics."

She put her head in her hands. "Ugh, you're right. How am I going to tell them?"

Ron put his arms around her. "You'll think of something."

Her teal-blue device light up as it beeped. She reached for it. "Hi, Wade! What's the sitch?"

"Hey Kim. Hi Ron. How are you holding up?"

"Getting much better. I should be able to ditch the crutches soon."

"Would you... mind... doing a little... research... for someone?"

"Research? What kind of research?"

"The kind you like best," he said sarcastically. "Engineers suddenly getting their math all wrong plus launch in two days equals possible sabotage."

"Wade, you're the king of this stuff. Why ask me?"

"Someone that has worked with your dad, and is now down in Florida, has a launch in two days. He thinks something has been tampered with. No one will investigate... he remembered your dad and put a hit on your site. If you're up to it, I mean."

"No fucking way," Ron growled. "You can't even walk yet, how are you supposed to defend yourself if you—"

"Can you find me a ride, Wade?"

"KP you can't be serious," Ron protested.

"I'll just be checking a lot of math over the next couple days, and then Wade's gunna check my math. Nothing bad will happen Ron."

"Fine, if you're so sure nothing bad will happen, I'm coming with you." That earned him a flesh-melting glare.

"Absolutely not."

"I'll tell your parents."

"Ron, what the fuck!"

"You aren't ready."

"I'll be the judge of whether or not I'm ready," she growled.

"KP... Sweetheart, I can't... I can't lose you. Please, please wait. Wade can check everyone's math himself. You don't need to be there."

"And if someone did tamper with something down there?"

"Then they'll delay the launch until the people that normally investigate figure it out themselves!"

Kim heaved a sigh. "I can do this."

"You're still hurt."

"I'm not an invalid," she hissed.

"Wade's a genius, your dad is a rocket scientist... there are plenty of people that can check this without you."

"There are astronauts that could be getting on a space ship that might literally blow them sky high...I'm going," she growled, her eyes blazing. "Wade, get me that ride!" She disconnected and went to her closet. Placing her hand on the biometric reader inside it, she waited for the door to open. She had her bag out and everything she could possibly need in seconds. Her mission outfit, the black and green one, hung neatly in a corner next to a white one he couldn't see well. She yanked it off it's hangers and raised an eyebrow at him.

He flushed bright red and turned around so she could get changed. When he turned around again, she was pulling black gloves onto her hands. Her hair was tied in a knot at the base of her neck. He might have drooled a little. She crossed the room without her crutches. Her first steps were were a bit shaky, and that cursed wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows, but her gait was almost normal.

He glared at her. "Kim..."

"You're using my name?! That's cold."

"The therapist said not yet."

"I have a high tolerance for pain," she said dryly. "I can handle it."

"Bullshit," he hissed. "I will so get your mom right now. So help me, I'll even get her to ground you."

She glared at him and went back for her crutches. "Happy?"

"Not even close."

"What do you want me to do, Ron?" she said tiredly. "Risk a couple of extra months of therapy, or risk the _lives_ of actual _people_ that are going into _space_?!"

"A couple extra months of therapy? Kim, if there's some lunatic trying to get these people killed, he won't have a problem _offing_ you either. And as much as you can fake it through a few steps across your bedroom, you won't be able to handle a full on fight with a freak and you _know_ it."

Her Kimmunicator beeped again. "Your ride is ready," Wade said quietly.

"Thanks, Wade, you rock."

He gave her a tight smile and disconnected.

"Kim... please."

She smiled and kissed his lips. "I'll be okay, Ron. I promise."

He swallowed hard. "Come back to me."

She smirked. "Don't I always?"

She stepped away from him and he turned, refusing to watch her go down the stairs.

* * *

"Dr. Chen, I remember you! Hi!"

"Oh my... Kim Possible? You were just a tiny little thing when I saw you last... look at you now! How are you? I see you're recovering well from your accident."

"I am," she smiled brightly. "My boyfriend is _not_ happy I'm here. He's afraid I'll hurt myself."

Dr. Chen's face fell. "I didn't know who else to call. I just need the investigators to see reason. I figure if you can prove that something's rotten in the state of Denmark, then they'll look into it and investigate without scratching the launch, right?"

"What exactly is the problem?"

"Have a seat," he said, motioning her to the chair across from his desk. "I'll grab us some coffee and I'll tell you everything."

After three hours of checking math equations and blueprints and specifications and everything else she could possibly think of, writing down every anomaly she found (and there were plenty) she finally sat back. "I'm just as stumped as you are. I mean... at first I thought they could just be mistakes... threes that look like eights and such... but now the mistakes are getting bigger and bigger, and there are too many to be a coincidence. Then there's the other stuff. This blueprint looks _nothing_ like the one Wade showed me on the way here. One guy isn't orchestrating this, that's for sure. Everything's been fixed?"

"Yes. Twice!" At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"Dr. Chen, I have a question." At the scientist's tired nod, he continued, pulling out a piece of paper. "Is this correct?"

Kim looked over his shoulder as he showed him a report, revealing that there had been a miscalculation involving the amount of fuel they would need to launch the spacecraft. Kim gulped. That amount of fuel was barely enough for the lift off. They'd make it a thousand feet into the air and crash miserably.

She rubbed her temples again. This was insane. A first grader would have wondered if that amount of fuel was enough to launch an entire rocket. How did these things happen?! Either someone here was incredibly dumb for a rocket scientist, or someone did not want this launch to happen. "Well they have to delay the launch now," she muttered. "There's an upside to everything, right? We'll have time to figure this out." She quickly dialed Wade on her Kimmunicator. "Hey Wade?"

"What's up?"

Another person came in, asking about something going wrong in the cabin where the people would be. They would run out of oxygen and suffocate to death in space.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Does this information go into some type of shared network or main computer where everyone has access?"

Dr. Chen nodded. "Yes, that's the fastest way to get everyone to have access to the same data."

"Wade, I need you to get into it and run a diagnostic. If everyone is making mistakes, everyone's getting the wrong information. And it's all coming from somewhere."

"I'll get back to you as soon as I can with that. Hacking into those systems is a nightmare, and they'll be on to me right away."

"Just try your best."

"Thanks, Kim. I'll let you know. Wade, out."

She tucked the device into her pocket. "Dr. Chen, can you thing of _anything _at all that could be a motive for someone to do this? Someone with a personal or work-related grudge against you perhaps? Maybe against one of your co-workers?"

He shook his head. "I... don't know anyone capable of this much disaster."

She sighed. It was dinner time. She should phone home. And eat.

"I'll let you go for the night," Dr. Chen said in understanding. "Buy you dinner?"

"No thanks... I'm staying at a hotel, I'll just order room service. I need to call my family."

"I understand."

"I'll have Wade contact you with his results, okay?"

"Thank you very much, Miss Possible."

"Kim, please," she said with a smile and a wave before turning away from him.

When she reached her hotel, she found that someone had already ordered her room service. It came with a note. _Stay out of this_ was all it said.

She made up some dumb excuse to return the food and ordered something completely different.

The next day, she heard the news that one of the astronauts was hospitalized for food poisoning, and that when they were testing some equipment at the launch site, something had malfunctioned and exploded, leaving two technicians in critical condition. The second incident was found to be due to yet another _miscalculation._

"I don't understand," Dr. Chen said mournfully, head in his hands as his shoulders sagged.

"Are you sure that there's no one that is holding a grudge against you...?"

"Not at all... wait... okay, years ago, when this project was developed, someone else had a proposal too... I don't know him personally, but his wife is good friends with my wife now. I designed and engineered this, you know."

"I know," she smiled. "Your jobs are sort of like my dad's."

He nodded. "Yes, well your father is very brilliant at what he does... I talked the ideas over with him when I came up with the idea. He said the engineering was solid, and she would go up like a dream. The astronauts going up are supposed to fix something in the space center we put in orbit years ago... so it has to fit a bunch of equipment and still function, and I still had to make it dock on the actual space center without damaging it. So yeah. It took a few years worth of extra coffee and sleepless nights, on both your father's part and mine."

"My dad helped you with this?"

"Yes, he did, very much."

"I'm going to have to talk to him then, maybe get him to show Wade his notes. In the mean time, I think we need lunch."

"I agree. Shall we?"

They made their way to a small cafe and took a table outside in the warm sunshine. Kim loved Florida. She made a mental note to visit with her Nana for a day before heading home.

"Do you think—"

A loud bang caused them both to jump. _Gunshots_, Kim thought, launching herself at Dr. Chen and sending both to the ground as a succession of explosions rang out and shattered glass rained on them. Her hip protested to the fall sharply, and she gritted her teeth. People screamed in terror until it was over.

Then, silence.

* * *

"Are you okay?!" Kim climbed to her feet and gingerly tested her weight on her bad leg. Yup, she'd screwed her hip up again. Brilliant. There was no way she'd be back cheerleading next year if she kept this shit up.

She ignored the pain and looked around, making sure that no one was injured. Thankfully, people were only terrified to death or cut up from glass as multiple shops, businesses, and restaurants had their windows shot to pieces. She herself realized with a wince that she had a gash on her arm near her elbow. Ron would kill her. Death by lecture from everyone she knew.

Great.

Dr. Chen also climbed to his feet. "Yes, I think so. You?"

She shrugged, looking at the other people around her also getting to their feet. None seemed seriously injured, although a little girl that looked about four seemed to have glass embedded in a cut on her arm. Kim smiled at the sniffling child before telling a waitress to find her a first aid kit before kneeling in front of the little girl. "I'm Kimmie," she said quietly. "I'm going to help you, okay?"

"You know first aid?" asked the mother dubiously.

Kim simply smirked.

"She's Kim Possible," Dr. Chen piped up.

"Oh," the mother said, relaxing instantly.

Kim shook her head. The waitress returned with a first aid kit that contained gauze and a sanitizer, which she took gratefully. "Kimmie's got to check your booboo, okay?"

The child nodded, watching anxiously as Kim took the gloves from the first aid kit and carefully examined the cut. The glass wasn't in very deep, and she decided to remove it. The little girl stiffened when she saw her unwrap the tweezers.

Kim looked the little girl in the eyes. ''This won't hurt a lot. I need to cover your booboo, and I can't do that with this piece of glass in here. Okay?"

Big tears rolled down her cheeks as Kim pulled out the piece of glass, only to reveal another. This one would cause a lot of bleeding when they removed it, she wasn't going to be able to take it out herself.

"There's another piece of glass in there," she murmured to the mother, using some of the gauze to apply pressure to the cut. "She's going to need to get it out at the doctor, I can't take it out here."

"You took out the other one," she frowned.

"This one is too deep, I'll cause more damage trying to get it out. Okay, baby girl," she said to the little girl, "I need you to sit in mommy's lap, okay? Hold her," she directed the mother. She needed to clean up the area, and the kit they gave her only had alcohol pads... this was going to hurt. A lot.

Dr. Chen watched Kim Possible treat the child's wound, partly amazed at the girl's talent with children, and partly cringing at the red stains on her gloves. He had kids too... he could not imagine how that woman was feeling watching her daughter be treated by a fifteen year old after being shot at.

The little girl cried and flinched over and over as the older girl wiped up the cut as gently as she could, apologizing over and over. Finally, she wrapped up the little girl's arm with gauze, telling her mother to maintain pressure on it for a while. She kissed the little girl's forehead, smiling a little bit to herself and then turned to someone else who came up behind her. He was a young man, with shaggy blond hair under a backwards baseball cap, about twelve. His white tee shirt was stained with red. She helped him out of his shirt and asked for more gloves.

When they came, she set about cleaning the gash on the boy's back. He hissed at the painful sting of the alcohol, but didn't make any other sounds. Kim chuckled. "You've done this a lot, haven't you?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah."

She laughed again. "Me too."

"How come? Me, I'm always getting hurt skateboarding."

"I like to skateboard. Actually, skating in general is really fun. But I'm uh, well don't tell my parents, but I got in a sky-diving accident last year. The only reason I didn't break everything is because my buddy Wade set me up with a last minute landing solution."

"You skydive?!"

"Yep," she said.

"That is so cool!"

"Thanks! What's your name?"

"I'm Robby."

"Robby, if you ever need anything at all, you shoot me a message. My name's Kim." She finished taping up his wound and winked at him.

The boy's eyes wandered over her body and he smirked. "Definitely."

She rolled her eyes. "Please, I know you hit puberty like two weeks ago, and I have a boyfriend. But your friends, which are all standing over there looking like douchebags, they're going to want to know what I just handed you, and I don't think you want to tell them that you had to get your ass saved by a girl and you couldn't even get her number."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

She smirked and waggled her fingers at him, effectively dismissing him.

He just grinned and scampered off with his friends, who put on their helmets and skated away.

Dr. Chen saw paramedics arrive, and the mother hurried over to have them double check Kim's work. The paramedics did agree with the assessment that the piece of glass was not to be removed until they got to the hospital.

A police man recognized Kim and hurried over. "Miss Possible? We're glad to see that you're well. What happened here?"

Kim shrugged. "I was about to have my lunch," she said sourly, yanking off the gloves she still had on her hands and frowning. "There were gunshots. Sounded like more than one weapon. I counted fifty-six shots, but there could have been more. No one reloads that quickly, so there had to be more than one person shooting. I didn't see, anything though. I was here with Dr. Chen, and I sort of tackled him," she ended sheepishly.

Dr. Chen grinned. "No worries."

She smiled gratefully at him before getting serious. "I think Dr. Chen was the target."

"Why do you say that, Miss Possible?"

"Because I'm here at his request, it seems that someone has been up to no good down at the space center... at first they were minor things, but since yesterday, two people have been injured in an explosion at the launch site, an astronaut has gotten food poisoning, and now there's a 'random' driveby shooting, and in _this _neighborhood? It doesn't seem like a coincidence to me."

"Hmm," the officer said, his voice rather condescending. "And just what do you think you'll discover that the government investigators won't?"

Wade answered that from her pocket. "A virus. A virus planted that has rewritten a whole bunch of commands and programs, edited documents, and even locked some people out at mission control. This is big, Kim. And even bigger, I can't remove it without it infecting my systems too."

Kim just smiled sweetly at the officer. "Thank you for your time, officer. I'm going to take Dr. Chen back to the space center myself... he's obviously safer with me than any of you or your government investigators." She gave him her sappiest expression and waggled her fingers again.

"If he's the target, then he needs to stay."

"I don't think you understood me, officer," she said, and her voice was not sweet anymore. "Someone is out there destroying a project that has taken years of research and millions of government dollars, and is now targeting the people working there. I got shot at today, so did the _director of this project_ so what I'm going to do is solve my case before someone else gets hurt or worse. You're going to step off and go back to your donut shop."

"Miss, that is uncalled for," he grated out.

"So is your attitude. Just because I'm still a kid to you doesn't mean I'm not capable of handling this investigation."

"You _are_ just a kid!"

"Maybe, but while you were in cop school learning how to fire a weapon, I was busting drug dealers in Mexico, training with Global Justice, and handling weapons you only _dream _about. While you're on the beat here in sunny hot Florida, drinking your iced coffee and eating your donuts, I'm training in sixteen different styles of martial arts, doing extreme sports, training with some of the worlds best special ops units."

The officer actually looked jealous.

"That's what I thought," she said, her voice falsely sweet again. "So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go do your job, make you look good, and keep your witness from being killed. Have a nice rest of the day."

Dr. Chen followed her away from the place. "Yikes," he muttered to himself.

* * *

**ooh. Little Miss Perfect has a bitchy side today, doesn't she? will she be able to live up to her word? **

**welcome, new followers! thanks for all the follows and favorites I've gotten on this. i'm glad you all are enjoying the story. i hope you find the time to review and let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ron gritted his teeth as he watched the evening news. Some place in Florida, a rocket scientist and a red head teenager he recognized immediately were having lunch when the place erupted in gun fire.

She wasn't using her crutches when she walked away from the scene. He picked up his iPod and scrolled to the application that would allow him to call her on her Kimmunicator. "KP," he growled.

"Oh hi, Ron," she smiled at him. Her face was tense.

"I saw the news today."

"Oh did you?" she raised an eyebrow.

He responded to her with a glare.

"Ron, I'm okay."

"They shot at you."

"I know, I was there," she said sarcastically.

"You weren't using your crutches."

She held them up for him to see. "They are a bit unusable right now," she said glumly.

He glared more. The metal devices had holes and dents in some places and were completely shredded in others.

"KP this is too dangerous."

"I'm fine," she said in a tone that left no room for argument.

They glared at each other for a moment and then her gaze softened. "Ron, Wade's keeping track of me. He's sort of mad at what happened to me too, and he turned the chip on my bracelet on. If any thing happens he'll know where I am and send backup right away. He's already working out new crutches for me and he already told my parents on me," she added the last part rather dully.

He sighed in resignation. "Fine."

"I love you Ron," she said softly.

"I love you too, Sweetheart. I'm... sorry I seem like such a jerk about all this. I just don't want you to get hurt."

She smiled. "Ron, I'll be okay. That wasn't the first time I've gotten hurt and it won't be the last. It's not the first time someone fires at me with something or other either. I'll be okay. I always am."

"Except when you're not."

She grinned. "If only you knew."

And the chat disconnected.

He tossed his iPod on his bed with a huff. He was already thinking about going downstairs and helping her parents come up with methods of torment for her for when she got back... and got grounded.

He was so not buying her any candy this week. Hmm...

* * *

Anne Possible glared dully at the TV screen before calling her daughter. "Kimberly Anne Possible," she said tonelessly.

"Full name," she muttered. "That's cold."

"You are in so much trouble..."

"I know, I know, I got read the riot act by Wade _and_ Ron."

"Well now I'm reading it to you too, Kimmie, you've—"

"I'm fine. I know everyone thinks I'm not ready for this but I'm fine."

"Not everyone," she countered with a glare. "Your _doctor_."

Kim rolled her eyes. "I'll be home in one piece as soon as this is over."

"You will be home _tomorrow_, Kimberly Anne."

"I'll be home when it's safe. I can't leave now, with an even bigger mess than when I started—oh, hang on. What's the sitch, Wade?"

"Kimmie—"

"Um... okay. Mom, hang on, hang on," she hissed into the phone before going back to the Kimmunicator. "Sounds sketchy. I'll be fine—for fuck sake, not you too, Wade!" She huffed angrily. She seemed to relent afterward, muttering an apology. "Fine, but tell them NOT to send me Will! If you care at all about my life and well-being, that man will not be part of my back up team!" She laughed after a moment. "Yes, I have my mom on the line actually. I'd like to get this whole thing over with by tomorrow... Wade, don't start! I promised I would figure out who is doing this and why, and I promised I'd keep this project from getting scrapped. Until I figure this out it is mission NOT accomplished. Yes, I know they shot at us, I was there when it happened," she snipped. Then she sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. Have I told you that you rock today?" she chuckled lightly at whatever his answer was. "Yes, I know, Wade, you'll be watching me, I know my chip is on, you see me when I'm sleeping and know when I'm awake... creeper," she chuckled. "I'm gearing up now, tell them to meet me in fifteen. Copy that. Thanks." Her attention finally turned back to Anne. "Sorry mom, I've got to go. Something came up down at the—"

"Kimberly Anne..."

"I'll call you when I get back," she said softly. "I love you mom. I know you worry, and I guess you have reason to be worried... but you know as well as I do that I won't be back tomorrow... so save it. Ground me when I get back, I accept that. But right now I have a job to do, and I'm going to do it."

Anne stared at her cellphone for a long time after her daughter hung up the phone. She didn't call back that night...

* * *

Kim cursed under her breath. Wade told her that he did find a way to eradicate the virus from the space center's system, but the system of an internet cafe had to be sacrificed as a result. He also told her that he'd intercepted a message for two people to meet at some private airstrip.

She shouldn't be here alone. She was sort of glad that Wade insisted on having backup for her. She'd learned that GJ was questioning the FBO and that all the flights leaving that airstrip were grounded until further notice. This made her feel slightly better, but the hair on the back of her neck was still standing on end, and she suppressed chill after chill that ran down her spine. This had to be some sort of trap.

She slipped silently into the plane. It looked comfortable, but there was nowhere to hide here. Shit. Maybe if she hid in the bathroom... no, they would sweep the place before they came to have their talk or whatever, she would be found. She needed to get out of there.

She made for the door and almost ran into a man with no hair and steely eyes that glared at her. She backed away from him, and he stepped forward, a sinister smirk on his face.

She hit a wall. She considered attacking him and running, but he was considerably bigger than her, and she knew that she would not last in a prolonged fight, since her hip was still far from fully recovered. Ron was right... crap.

He grabbed her arm, propelling her further into the plane and dropping her into a seat. When he turned, she discreetly pressed the panic button on her Kimmunicator and put it back into her pocket.

"Tie her up."

Kim glared at the two men behind him. "Touch me and lose your hand," she hissed.

The man simply grinned. "If my men lose limbs, you'll lose some too, my dear girl."

"Says you."

The men stepped forward and she mentally calculated their heights and weights, and which one would attack first. She could take them. The first one reached for her and she twisted his hand with surprising force, grinning in satisfaction as he cried out. His hand, now broken, and still in her grip, served to propel him into the other man, who was caught off guard. Their heads made contact with a sickening crunch, and they slumped to the ground, unconscious.

The evil man's dark gaze was amused. He clapped. "Bravo, Miss Possible. Well done. I guess I will have to do this the old fashioned way—oof!" He grunted as her fist made hard contact with his gut. Her foot kicked something out of his hand, which she realized was some sort of taser. She tried to run, but his hands wrapped around her throat and squeezed.

"Not so fast," he said with a painful chuckle. "You can't beat me. No one can beat me. Dr. Chen is learning that the hard way tonight."

"Where is he?" She wheezed, clawing at his hands.

"Thanks to you, he'll go for the ride of his life tonight. You see, Dr. Chen presented a project that wasn't really his. It belonged to someone else..."

"He... got help! Not—the same," she gasped as spots appeared in her vision.

"He is a liar and that project should have gone to me! He _stole_ my rightful place as the leader of this project! I will NOT let him succeed. And anyone in my way will _die_," he said, squeezing harder.

Kim let her body go limp with a final gasp, hoping he would think her unconscious. He did, and she landed on the floor with a thump. Instantly she was on her feet, putting space between them and quietly gasping for breath.

She attacked, lungs still burning for air. She didn't know how long she'd been fighting him when cries of "Global Justice, hands where we can see them!" echoed through the small cabin. The man raised his arms obediently, eyes wide when he saw all the firepower in the small space, but Kim stayed in her fighting stance until someone told her to stand down. The evening was a blur. The man, who was later identified as Dr. George Kilgore, was arrested for three counts of attempted murder, assaulting a federal agent, and tampering with military technology.

She was sent to the hospital to be checked. Her hip was as okay as it could be. Her throat was a different issue. They told her her trachea had suffered significant trauma and she'd be unable to speak or eat solid food for a few days.

A random clock in the hallway read 3:39am when an agent told her that Dr. Chen was in critical condition after being left to die in the middle of the ocean off the gulf coast. Dr. Chen's launch was scrapped.

She hung her head. Mission not accomplished.

* * *

"_Welcome, Kim. Ron's settings. Active."_

The door unlocked and she tiredly peeled off her mission clothes and slipped into her pajamas just as Ron emerged from the bathroom in his pajama pants and no shirt. His eyes widened. "KP... what the _fuck_ happened to your neck?!"

She just heaved a sigh.

"Sweetheart?"

She reached into her school desk and pulled out a notebook and pen.

He read over her shoulder. "'_Attacked by the man responsible for the disaster at the space center. Strangled'_... strangled?! KP he fucking tried to _strangle _you?! Where the hell was your backup?!" He almost yelled.

She wrote in the notebook, and he read out loud again.

"_'They came, but I had to fight him myself for a while. I figured if I let him explain himself like I normally do with all the other bad guys, I might end up floating face-down in the gulf... you were right, I wasn't ready. I'm not a hundred percent... and that man's project suffered because of it.'_ Stop, KP, don't blame yourself. You caught the guy didn't you? He's not fucking up anyone else's launches or trying to kill people anymore, mission accomplished, right?"

She shook her head sadly, scribbling in the notebook again. _No. My mission was also to keep Dr. Chen and safe and keep his launch project from being scrapped completely. Neither thing happened. Mission not accomplished._

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart," Ron said softly, wrapping his arms around her. "Lay with me?" he whispered.

She complied, letting him tuck her in before falling asleep in his safe embrace.

When she awoke, the left side of her bed was very much empty. Her alarm clock read 2:19pm. She groaned. Her throat was killing her and her head was spinning. She growled at the tiny white pills on her night stand. She couldn't even swallow water, how was she supposed to take those things down?!

She stumbled out of bed and into the shower, wincing as the hot water stung the awful bruising on her neck. She did feel a little bit better afterward, though. The spinning went away.

She made it downstairs a bit more gracefully than how she tumbled out of bed earlier. She found a note on the microwave that read, _feel better, Sweetheart -Ron_

Inside the microwave, soup. In a covered bowl. She grinned as she heated it up excietedly. He was so sweet. She pulled out her Kimmunicator, intending to leave him a video message... where was he, anyway? He probably had a meeting with his lawyer... the trial for his parents was in two days. Someone snatched the sleek device out of her hand. "Hey," she yelped, her throat protesting.

"You're grounded," her mother told her, a stern look on her face.

"But—I wasn't even doing anything," she whispered, trying not to strain her throat.

Anne raised her eyebrow. "What were you doing then?"

She took the device back and found Ron in her contacts. "Just wanted to say thanks for the soup. I love you," she said lowly before stopping and sending the recording and handing it back to her mother with a glare before taking her soup and stomping into the living room. She'd accepted being grounded, but she didn't have to like it.

Her mother followed her, hand on her hip. "Kimberly Anne, I was not done talking to you. You're being punished for a month; your new curfew is six pm."

"What?!" She yelped. "I thought I was being grounded, not imprisoned."

Anne ignored her. "Your curfew is six pm until the month is up. No friends over, and if I catch you doing anything on this thing business related, I will take it away until school starts, are we clear?!"

"What about Ron?"

"He says he's not buying you any candy until the school year starts."

"He's grounding me too?" she mumbled. "Gosh. I'm fine, it's no big."

"Kimmie, look at the marks on your throat in the mirror and then come tell me that again."

Kim's hands found her neck instinctively and she cringed. "I get bruised up all the time, mom."

"This is _not_ the same and you know it."

Kim smirked. "You're right. Normally the bad guys have the money and time to get creative. Did you know one of them blasted a hole in my parachute last year? It burned until I was free-falling. If Wade hadn't thought up a landing solution, they'd still be scraping me off the pavement with a damn spatula. Oh, their favorite thing to do is try and shoot me with some sort of death ray... it never works. Oh, and there was the one time I was shark lunch. He had a lame line too. It was like... 'Why don't you stay for lunch?' or something like that. I was like puh-_lease_. That was fun," she observed thoughtfully, tilting her head. "I think the sharks liked me... I might have to try that again actually. There's this place in the Bahamas where you can swim with sharks..."

Anne choked. "_Fun?!" _She coughed, sputtering. "Wait a minute, did you just say you wanted to do it again?!"

Kim tried not to laugh, knowing that it would hurt if she did. "Oh, there was also the time this one genetic scientist guy tried—"

"I get it," her mother interrupted with a grumble. "That's not why I said that this is different."

"Then why?"

"Because you weren't ready, Kimmie," her mother said softly. "You know we support you on this as much as we can. We've always trusted you to know your own limits. We know it's dangerous... and it kills us, baby girl, that you do all kinds of things like free-fall without a parachute or swim with hungry sharks, or defend yourself against evil men because the world's governments can't apprehend these people on their own... I hate knowing that you leave and one day you might not come back. One day you didn't come back, remember?"

Kim softened. "I know momma. I'm sorry. I know I pushed myself too hard. It's just... it felt so _good_ to be back out there. I needed it. At least I'm walking without the damn crutches now."

Anne's face was stern again. "You shouldn't be. The therapist said a few weeks yet."

"I'm fine," Kim responded with a roll of her eyes. "It barely even hurts anymore. My knee is still stiff though. I need to start getting back in shape for—"

Anne just heaved a sigh. Her daughter was like the energizer bunny. She kept going and going, and apparently she didn't know when to quit either. She wished her daughter had a permanent partner, someone she could count on to help her every time she went on a mission. And someone to bust her chops when she was being unsafe or unreasonable.

Kim watched her mother for a while, then wrapped her in a tight hug. "I love you, mom."

Anne smiled into her daughter's hair. "I love you too, Kimmie." She pulled back and smirked. "Your curfew is still six though."

"Ugh!"

* * *

She frowned at herself in the mirror as she fussed with her soft, white silk blouse. Her hair was pressed into submission and her dark gray pencil skirt and dark green suede flats made her look older. She wasn't sure she liked it. She was wearing green studs in her ears and a soft green scarf around her neck. Her voice was better, but her neck was purple and red, and she didn't think it was bright to show up in court looking like Frankenstein's punching bag. Cover-up only did so much, and she gave up on it early on. She slipped on her charm bracelet and took her purse from her bed before heading down the stairs.

Ron greeted her at the door to her room with a smile. "Ready to go?"

She nodded, slightly dazzled. He was wearing a black suit jacket and a light blue shirt underneath. He had no tie, and the last button was undone. He had on very dark jeans and shiny black shoes. He looked really...

"KP?" he chuckled, reaching for her hand. "Let's go, Sweetheart."

"Uh... okay," she mumbled, still trying to check him out discreetly. He looked older too. He was dressed rather casually, but whatever. He was a teenager, they couldn't expect him to show up all stuffy looking, like the bald guy that was representing his parents. That was just... gross. Besides, him looking this good would be almost as insulting to his parents as if he physically slapped each of them in the face... twice.

Anne was wearing a color block pencil skirt and lavander-colored blouse, and she looked like she always did. Immaculate and prepared for anything. Ron admired that woman more than he would ever admit.

Dr. Possible was sullen looking, wearing all black. He took his labcoat along, and both teens figured he was headed for work after court.

The ride to the courthouse was silent. Ron's nerves were building. Kim would take the stand for him today, so would Wade. The officers that found him would also take the stand, and then he would be last.

Kim squeezed his hand. "Relax."

He tried to smile at her. It didn't work.

Dr. Arias met them on the steps, and he chuckled at Ron. "Relax."

"Yeah yeah," he mumbled, squeezing Kim's hand harder. She wrestled it from his grasp and wrapped her arms around him instead. "You're going to be okay," she said into his chest.

He returned the hug, squeezing her close and reveling in the scent of her. He felt better immediately. "Thank you," he murmured into her hair.

A woman walked by then, followed by her husband and a little girl. "Mommy, are they going to court too?"

"Yes, sweetie."

"Are they getting divorced? Because that's what happened when Charlie's mommy n daddy went to court. Mommy, are you n daddy getting divorced?" The little girl eyed the tall blond boy and red-haired girl speculatively. The woman's eyes widened and she frantically shook her head.

Kim and Ron laughed hard. They weren't even married...

Dr. Possible struggled to stay indifferent.

The mother gave the family an apologetic look, which both Kim and Ron waved off between chuckles. Ron squatted down to her eye level, his honey eyes sparkling. "What's your name?"

"I'm Dahlia!" She said with a bright grin. Her two front teeth were missing, and her bright blue eyes practically danced with excitement that he was talking to her.

"Dahlia, I'm sure your mommy and daddy aren't getting a divorce. I bet they are just paying a ticket or something."

"Uh Oh. Mommy getted a ticket! But that means she got in trouble. Are you in trouble, mister?"

Ron shook his head. "No, sweetie. I'm here because..." he drew a deep breath. "I'm here because my mommy and daddy aren't as patient with me as your mommy and daddy are with you. They are actually very mean, and the police said I didn't have to live with them anymore."

The little girl saddened. "I'm sorry your mommy and daddy are mean. My mommy's nice, she bought me ice cream!"

He smiled. "Thank you. Now you better go, we don't want your mommy to get in trouble again, do we?" He asked with a mischievous wink.

"No," she said, eyes wide. "Mister? Is that girl your wife? She's pretty, she looks like the little mermaid! Is her name Ariel? Because then she'd be the little mermaid! But you don't look like the prince though... but that's okay. She's still pretty."

He laughed again. "She is pretty, isn't she? Her name is Kim. She's not my wife, though. Not yet," he added with another wink. Kim flushed as red as her hair and Dr. Possible's eyes went wide. Anne just smirked. The little girl's mother laughed hard at the family's reactions.

He straightened and turned to the mother. "Ron," he introduced himself. "Your little girl is adorable, you should be proud."

"I am," she said with a smile before taking her daughter's hand and hurrying after her husband.

He turned back to Kim, who was still red. "Not yet?"

He pressed a kiss to her lips. "Not yet," he murmured. Then he faced the courthouse. Better get this over with.

* * *

"State your full name, age, and occupation for the records, please."

"Kimberly Anne Possible is my full name... I'm fifteen years old. I'm a full time student and also a... sort of... well, sometimes I do jobs for Global Justice, the FBI, the American Red Cross, and other people... you know, private investigations, rescues, security—er, the works."

The lady, who Kim found to be really bitchy, raised an eyebrow. "How's that? You just said you're fifteen."

"It's a long story."

"We have time," Miss Lobanov said, slightly annoyed by the answer.

"I helped a man with a security issue he had in his home, four and a half years ago. It turned out that that security system was stolen classified technology. Since then, GJ often seeks me out for different missions. I also have a website people can contact me through to ask for help. Wade and I are actually certified private investigators."

"Amazing," the prosecutor murmured. "All this at the age of fifteen?"

Kim smirked. "I have a lot of time on my hands."

"Apparently," snorted Miss Lobanov. "Why did you ask Mr. Load to search for Ron?"

"I um... he didn't call, and I was worried. He and his parents had a fight the day before, because his mother... well he said his mother was beating his sister."

"Objection, hearsay!"

Kim glared at the lawyer. "I saw the welts myself. That kid is just a baby and she had massive welts on her legs."

The judge shook his head at the defense lawyer. "Overruled. Continue, Miss Lobanov."

"Welts?" The prosecutor asked, turning back to the witness stand.

"Yes. Welts. Cuts and bruises on her legs from a damn belt. She was only seven or eight months old when that happened."

"Do you think that this type of punishment is acceptable for someone that age?"

"Objection, she's a fifteen year old kid, what does she know?!"

"Miss Possible's opinion would be an expert one," Miss Lobanov countered.

"A fifteen year old that saves cats from trees and rescues Pixie Scouts from the jerks that steal their cookies?"

"Try a drug cartel, a mad scientist, and several large-scale search and rescue operations. I'm fifteen not five," Kim snapped, "And any human with half a brain and a heart two sizes too small knows that that is _not_ okay. As a friend and as someone that _enforces the law_," she emphasized, glaring at the lawyer, "that is completely unacceptable."

The annoying lawyer fell silent, sitting sullenly in his seat.

"When Wade finally located Ron, where was he?"

"He and his sister were locked in their basement."

"Do you know how long they were there?"

"A couple days, I guess. I don't know for sure."

"And what was their condition?"

"Ron and Hana were both..." she drew a shaky breath. "Upset. Dehydrated. Having low blood sugar and other problems as a result of not having anything to eat or drink... I'm just glad they are okay now."

Mrs. Stoppable, a pale woman with short blonde hair and a stern face, scowled at the younger red-haired girl in the witness stand. Her husband's fists were clenched on the table.

"Miss Possible, did you ever meet the Stoppables?"

"No, and they should be thankful I didn't."

"Your Honor!" yelped the greasy lawyer.

"You little brat," spat Mrs. Stoppable, jumping out of her seat. "You deserve that piece of shit! I hope he fucks up your life like he fucked up mine! I'm glad I put his filthy ass in the base-"

"If you don't control your clients I'll have them removed and fined for contempt of court," the judge threatened the bald man. He gave a stern look to Kim, trying to call the court to order.

Kim just smirked at the Stoppables, who were practically vibrating with outrage. Ron's face was pale. She shook her head at him once, and he swallowed hard, his jaw clenched. "I love you," she mouthed at him, and he smiled, the tension in his face melting away a little bit. He realized that she and Miss Lobanov had been planning to provoke his parents into some sort of incriminating outburst, and they did.

The court returned to order and Kim sat back in her seat, smirking at the greasy lawyer as Miss Lobanov leaned her hip on her desk.

"Miss Possible... how did you meet Ron?"

"On a ski trip," she said with a smile that was superficially pleasant, but Ron, the judge, and the defense lawyer all knew it was an intimidating smirk.

"And you... uh... did... people see you spend time with him?"

Kim's brows furrowed briefly in confusion. "No."

"So then you never spent time with him in public, just when you were trapped in that avalanche."

She rolled her eyes. "Your point?"

"Ron told you about his family when you were on the mountain?"

"Again... your point?"

"So then it's possible that you and Ron made this whole thing up, just to—"

"No, _I'm_ Possible," she growled at the man as comprehension dawned on her face, "Kim Possible. And you, sir, are _sick_ for even thinking something like this. Ron isn't as malicious and assoholic as his parents are. _Your clients_ abused him all his life, and when he told me that I'd only even _known_ him for a few hours! Why would two teenagers that only just met each other make up this kind of conspiracy? Considering that, as far as we knew, we were going to die. Ron is a _victim_. His sister is a _victim._ My reputation is impeccable, and I wouldn't risk it and what I do for a lie like what you just suggested. And you... well, you're still a sick jerk," she ended with indignant fury thinly disguised as a sardonic smile as she looked the man up and down disdainfully.

"Your Honor," he whined.

She glared at him, and he shrank back imperceptibly. "Do _not_ insult me or Ron like that again."

"Miss Possible, watch yourself."

She glared at the lawyer in silence, but accepted the judge's rebuke. She'd done what she wanted today: she'd gotten the Stoppables to show their true colors, and she'd made their lawyer look incompetent.

The lawyer glared back at her for a long time. "No further questions," he said at last, defeated.

She smirked at his back as he walked back to his seat.

The prosecutor smirked at him too. Kim grinned at her. The mean girls were in the house now, and Ron was the hottie no one was allowed to fuck with. The Stoppables were about to get burned. Bad.

* * *

Shego was holding her sides laughing. "He sounds like a stupid asshole."

"He was," Kim said with a satisfied smirk. "He _and _the Stoppables played right into Miss Lobanov's trap, and I don't even thing they know it."

"Idiots."

"I know, right? I don't think they'll get away with hurting Ron and Hana that way."

"Good," Shego said with satisfaction. Then she gave her a stern look. "You want to tell me what went down in Florida?"

She glared. "Nothing."

"You know, Dr. Director will hear about this, if she hasn't already."

"I'm sure she has," Kim snapped. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Look all I'm going to tell you is this: I get that you're a goody-two-shoe that likes to help everybody, but you can't help anyone if you don't help yourself. Someday soon things are going to go really south, really fast, and you're going to have to take care of yourself and your family first. And if you can't do it alone, they're going to know, and things are going to be even harder for you to handle."

"I don't need a lecture from _you,_ Sherri."

Sherri's mouth dropped open for a second, and then she glared. "Fuck you, Princess. You don't know anything."

"I know enough."

"You don't know anything at all," Sherri hissed, "and that you think you do, and that you thought you could handle whatever the fuck you went to do down there proves that you don't know anything. You're only going to keep being effective if you have help. I'm not saying this to piss you off, I'm saying it because I give a shit about you for some reason."

Kim deflated. "I'm sorry. Look, I know I wasn't ready to handle that mission, okay? Just... give it a rest. I promise I'll do better."

"It's not about you _doing better_. It's about you using the sources and people at your disposal. A good agent always knows who and what they can use, and they do it effectively."

Kim bit her lip. "Okay. I won't go without backup again. Satisfied?"

"Very. Now get out, visitation is over."

* * *

**well, there's that. more as soon as I can. let me know what you guys think :)**


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